1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to thermal printers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The number of components of a thermal printer having a thermal printing part including a thermal head and a platen is relatively small and therefore it is easy to miniaturize the thermal printer. Accordingly, thermal printers have been widely applied as annex printers of cash registers, portable type terminal devices, ATMs (automatic teller machine) and other devices. As such a thermal printer, a printer where a platen is detachably provided on a frame body configured to support a thermal head, has been known. Here, the platen functions as a rear surface supporting body so that stable printing on a printing sheet (thermal paper) by the thermal head is realized.
In the above-mentioned platen detachable type thermal printer, by detaching the platen from the platen frame body, it is possible to easily and immediately perform an operation where a new printing roll which is supplied and exchanged is set in a printing stand-by state or an operation where a printing roll having been jammed in the printing part during a printing operation is removed. See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2005-59395 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2007-118247.
In the meantime, in a conventional thermal printer, a platen roller is detached from the thermal head based on a rotational fulcrum of a cover as a center. Accordingly, variety of design of the printer may be limited. Furthermore, a thermal printer having a lower price has been in demand.